'The Strain' Samantha Mathis Talks Season 2, Guillermo Del Toro, & Justine Faraldo! EXCLUSIVE

Based on Guillermo Del Toro's bestselling novels, published by Dark Horse Comics, Season 2 of The Strain continues on FX. In an exclusive interview with MStars News, actress Samantha Mathis talks about playing the unbreakable Councilwoman Justine Faraldo as she wages her own political war against The Master and his vampire kind.

As we previously mentioned, in our recap of Fort Defiance, while Ephraim Goodweather (Corey Stoll) and Nora Martinez (Mia Maestro) were working in the lab, searching for a cure, Councilwoman Justine Faraldo (Mathis) had plans of her own. In front of the press, public, and cameras, Justine promised she would do anything to keep Staten Island a vampire-free zone. She then unveiled her gruesome message; a group of dead bloodsuckers hanging, with their heads chopped off.

MStars News participated in a press event, speaking with actress Samantha Mathis as she discussed witnessing the eye-popping make-up effects on set, the real-life influences to the vampire-hating councilwoman, and answers if The Master should be afraid of Justine Faraldo.

MStars News: Tell em about seeing the vampire make-up effects for the first time in episode 3, Fort Defiance.

Samantha Mathis: Really disgusting and disturbing. Disturbing. There's nothing subtle about what the character Justine was showing to the world in that scene. They were strung up. It was pretty gross and pretty graphic, and I think really speaks to who she is.

MS: How would you describe Justine's message in the scene?

SM: She's got a message, and she's shouting it from the rafters. She's got a zero tolerance, and she means business. As a person, as an actor, and as a human being, it's pretty disgusting.

I think that they do graphic makeup effects and visual effects on the show tremendously well. As a person, it's sort of disgusting. As an artist, I have tremendous respect and awe for what they accomplish.

On her introduction to the show:

SM: I had seen the posters for the show. Living in New York City, I had seen them all over the city last summer. I was thoroughly freaked out and disgusted by them, as I think most people were. The worm in the eyeball was an incredible ad campaign. I have to say just a mad shout out to the FX, not a plug but I just have to say it anyway, I think that the people who were doing the advertising campaigns for the show are phenomenal. I love the art that they're coming up with. They really captured my attention in that regard.

On working with Guillermo Del Toro and Carlton Cuse:

SM: I've known Guillermo's work for a long time. I hadn't seen the show, but I was a huge fan of his work. He's such an artist. He's such a visionary.

And, then Carlton obviously has a tremendous track record in television and creating really compelling television.

Then, on top of that, I am a huge fan of Corey Stoll's work. So all of those things combined immediately drew me in, and then I got the role the same way that anyone else gets a roll.

You audition. So, I just went in, and I went on tape, and they responded to what I did.

On being part of Guillermo Del Toro and Carlton Cuse's show:

SM: I am working with people who are tremendous visionaries and had conceived of, certainly, that part of the show far before I came along. What I really appreciate is a visual that is so strong and shows the depths of her seriousness of the situation and I think also her anger. And that she will do anything to protect her people.

On the real-life influences to her character:

SM: I had a very brief conversation when I was brought on to play Justine. I mean I watched some footage of Geraldine Ferraro. I really tried to draw from what Staten Island is like today and looked at footage from some council people from Staten Island. I live in New York City, so there's no shortage of access to that. In fact, our NY1 news station on Time Warner is incredible in terms of covering Staten Island news.

On what Justine stands for:

SM: I was striving to really create someone who felt authentically Staten Island and what that entails. As I was saying earlier, I think that there, in my experience, is an element for Staten Island natives, that they haven't always been done right by New York City. There's a healthy level of skepticism in terms of how the mayor deals with Staten Island. I think that was really the most important thing to me.

On creating Justine's backstory:

SM: You know, my own personal experience is my boyfriend is a firefighter, and there's a tribe. When you're in a tribe of people that are civil servants, that work in the fire department and the police department, there's a great deal of pride and a great deal of family. You have each other's back.

Justine lost two firefighters, and her nephew is a policeman, so she's got a great deal of pride, and Staten Island is home to a tremendous amount of first responders that work in New York City and that died during 9/11. So she's protecting her people. She's being a good politician.

Could Justine herself defeat The Master?

SM: I don't think she really has a handle on what she's dealing with, but once again, she's seen the mayor's office bungling the situation, not coming at it and taking care of its citizens in the way certainly that she sees fit. I love that first scene as her introduction; sort of coming in guns-a-blazing, but not without good reason.

On what's coming up for Justine:

SM: Well, there will be a point where a gun ends up in Justine's hands. Let me put it this way, it'll be a lot of fun to be that character and getting a gun into her hands and getting into protecting herself. That was a lot of fun!

Will she meet with Eph (Stoll) and the rest of his vampire-hunting team?

SM: I think that all roads will be colliding!

Season 2 of The Strain continues on Sundays FX at 10pm.

Readers, are you excited to see episode 4, The Silver Angel?

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